Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip — The grove of orange, olive and palm trees that once stood in front of Ne’man Abu Jarad’s house was bulldozed away. The roses and jasmine flowers on the roof and in the garden, which he lovingly watered so his family could enjoy their fragrance, were also gone.

Follow NBC News live updates for the latest coverage of the ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.

Hamas-led militants freed the first of eight hostages on Thursday in the latest release since a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took hold earlier this month. Israel was expected to release another 110 Palestinians.

My mother, father, and brothers are all buried in one grave,” 12-year-old Alma Ja’arour said. "There is no home to return to, no one waiting for me.”

Nedal Hamdouna, a Palestinian journalist, has been displaced seven times by the 15-month war in Gaza. Here, he describes the joy he felt in being able to return to Beit Lahia in the north of the strip

Despite the extreme hardships they have experienced and the long road ahead, children in Gaza are holding fast to their dreams of a better future.

With a ceasefire agreement pausing the war between Israel and Hamas, Israeli troops have withdrawn from Gaza city centers. For the first time in eight months, NPR got a glimpse of Rafah this week.

Crowds of Palestinians fill Gaza’s main coastal road as they stream north. With their belongings on their backs, they smile, hug and sing, overjoyed at the prospect of returning home after more than a year of war.

At least 39 Thai agricultural workers were killed in the Oct. 7 attacks, and at least 31 were taken hostage, according to the Thai foreign ministry. Of the 31 hostages, at least two died in captivity, Thai officials said. During a cease-fire in November 2023, 23 Thai hostages were released.

Hamas handed captive Israeli soldier Agam Berger over to the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip, the first of eight hostages set to be released today as part of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is set to free two more Israeli hostages as well as five Thai captives,

First of three Israelis freed in Gaza as hostage releases begin - It is the third exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners since a ceasefire was agreed nearly a fortnight ago